Meet the new Archie
AH, Archie Comics. The first comic book I ever read ( not counting Lat’s work). I have fond memories of lying in bed at night, reading about Archie’s hapless attempts to woo both Betty and Veronica, his rivalry with the smarmy Reggie and of course, the cool, laidback Jughead’s seemingly insatiable hunger for burgers.
Those days seem like a long time ago. As I grew older and got into other books and comics, the somewhat simplistic adventures of Archie and gang grew less and less appealing. But my interest in Archie was piqued once more last year, when Archie himself was killed off in Life Of Archie, an alternate timeline book depicting the characters all grown up.
So, when it was announced that there would be a reboot of Archie written by none other than Mark Waid and drawn by Saga’s Fiona Staples, I was drawn, irresistibly, back to Riverdale to see how this new dynamic creative duo could revitalise one of the most beloved comics characters of all time.
What better writer to bring forth a new age of Archie than Waid, the man who wrote Kingdom Come, The Flash, and recently revitalised Daredevil? Being one of the biggest names in comics writing, Waid certainly has the chops to reboot one of the most beloved comics characters of all time.
From the get go, he gives us a fresh perspective of the character, making him break the fourth wall by talking directly to the reader. He lays out the plot perfectly without resorting to too much exposition – we learn that Archie and Betty, the power couple of Riverdale High, have broken up due to something called the “Lipstick Incident”. The story here revolves around their friends trying to get the two to get back together again, with the help ( or not) of Archie’s best friend, Jughead.
Fiona Staples, who just won the Best Penciller Eisner Award for Saga, is also an inspired choice for this book. Her gorgeous artwork suits these characters perfectly, and exudes the right amount of teen spirit for the character and the high school environment. Her depiction of Betty is especially great – one scene of Archie in the foreground talking to the reader has Betty behind him, trying to pucker up courage to talk to him, but failing to do so in four simple panels in which her expression goes from hope, sadness, and fear in four simple panels.
That, coupled with Waid’s playful depiction of the two former lovebirds coping with the breakup, is the perfect introduction to Betty and Archie’s relationship, giving it enough weight and history that you sort of start rooting for Betty even before Veronica comes into the picture ( I can’t wait to see what happens when that happens).
While it can be a little jarring to see these particular characters in Staples’ less car- toony and more realistic style, it plays a huge part in convincing the reader that we’re not in the same Riverdale anymore.
All in all, Archie # 1 feels like a welcome return to a familiar world for long- time Archie fans, but at the same time, updates the property and gives it a fresh and new enough perspective to draw in new readers as well.